Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations

Conn. Governor, Health Officials Sued Over Ebola Quarantine

The plaintiffs say the decision was unconstitutional and was rooted in political, not scientific, grounds.

The Connecticut Mirror:
Malloy, State Health Officials Sued Over Ebola Quarantine Policy
People quarantined in Connecticut during the height of the 2014 Ebola crisis sued Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and state health officials on Monday, saying the quarantine policy the governor imposed is unconstitutional. The complaint, filed by Yale law students in federal court, seeks unspecified monetary damages and an end to the policy Malloy and former Connecticut Department of Public Health chief Jewell Mullen put in place in October of 2014. Present acting health Commissioner Raul Pino is also named as a defendant. (Radelat, 2/8)

The Associated Press:
Governor, Health Officials Sued Over Ebola Quarantines
Several people quarantined in Connecticut after returning from West Africa during the Ebola epidemic in 2014 were essentially imprisoned illegally under a state policy based on politics, not science, according to a lawsuit they filed on Monday. The lawsuit was filed by Yale Law School students against Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and state health officials on behalf of plaintiffs including a West African family of six quarantined at a relative's home for 20 days and a current student and former student at the Yale School of Public Health who were under 20-day quarantine orders at their homes. (2/8)

Meanwhile, the U.N. sharply criticizes WHO for its Ebola response —

Reuters:
Lives At Risk Unless WHO Reforms, U.N. Report Says
The World Health Organization needs urgent reform to boost its ability to respond to crises, and failure to act now could cost thousands of lives, according to an advance copy of a high-level U.N. report. The report, entitled "Protecting Humanity from Future Health Crises", is the latest in a series of reviews by global health experts which have been sharply critical of the WHO's response to the devastating Ebola epidemic in West Africa. (Kelland, 2/8)

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